


How Agatha Ended Up With a Goldfish Named Jeremy

by SkyRose



Category: Carry On - Rainbow Rowell
Genre: Character Study, Coffee, College, F/F, Fluff, Pets, a lil exploration on agatha and her love of animals, and a lil romance!, as well as her new life in cali
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-16
Updated: 2017-12-16
Packaged: 2019-02-15 10:33:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,243
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13029204
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SkyRose/pseuds/SkyRose
Summary: Agatha reflects on her new life in Cali, her love of animals, and a cute girl she meets at an animal shelter.





	How Agatha Ended Up With a Goldfish Named Jeremy

**Author's Note:**

  * For [desastrista](https://archiveofourown.org/users/desastrista/gifts).



> A cute lil exploration of Agatha. I don't really mention the events of Carry On. I figured Agatha would move on and not pay much mind to it. This was the first time a wrote an establish character x an original one. It's not particular plotty, but it was still an interesting first. Also, this is my first year participating in Yuletide. Glad to participate in this wonderful event! Hope you enjoy, especially desastrista! :D

Agatha would admit the troubling change since moving to Cali would be the weather. It was hot and dry quite consistently. She had grown up being freezing cold quite often and wearing sweaters and her mother’s warming spells. She liked the heat. Most of the time. Sometimes she really wanted a cooling spell.

She got lucky with her roommates. They were very eager to help a British girl learn the ways of Southern California. Agatha lost count of how many times she wondered if her ignorance in certain situations was from her British heritage or her magickal heritage. 

Agatha only went back to Britain once a year. She knew her mother wanted her to visit more, but Agatha convinced her it was because of school. She was quite busy with schoolwork. College was harder when you didn’t know the basics. The Dictionary app on her phone was a close friend, at this point.

Lucy was wonderful. She kept Agatha from staying inside studying all day. Lucy loved walking on the beaches and barking at the seagulls. Sometimes she’d get tangled in the leash of a dog with an attractive owner. It reminded her a that Disney movie her roommate, Bethany, made her watch. Agatha thought they were kinda cute. She didn’t care for the ones with fantasy elements.

Agatha had taken her time picking her major. It had all snapped into place when she had found an orange cat limping near a surf shop. She had taken the cat to the nearest animal hospital. Then she adopted him. It was a he and she named him Charlie.

Agatha was living with her two roommates and two pets when she realized she wanted to become a veterinarian. It had been her childhood dream job. She had told Simon about it. She had been slightly worried she wouldn’t have the stomach for it. But, she had seen her fair share of stuff and was fine. Most of the time. She liked working with animals. She liked making than feel better again. 

As cliche as it was, Agatha felt herself healing when she healed animals. It finally felt like she’d found what she was meant to do. She had been so confused about what she wanted to do. It was very relieving. At Watford, all Agatha knew was that she didn’t want to be there. She wanted to be far, far away. And, honestly, Agatha was fine with cliches. They were normal. She liked normal. Agatha read her biology books in Starbucks with her maybe-boyfriends sitting across from her. Agatha snuggled with Lucy and Charlie after long study sessions. Agatha went out with her friends when she needed a break from the animal kingdom. She found a comfortable cycle. It was nice and simple.

One summer break she found something new to add to her cycle. She’d decided to volunteer at a local animal shelter for the weekend in place of a friend that usually worked there. It was a wonderful experience that allowed her to forward her want to become a vet. She donated many weekends of time to the shelter. She befriended many animals and humans.

Agatha could remember a time were she thought big dogs were somewhat beastly, she was a spaniel lady after all, but she loved to spend time with the pitbulls and dobermans. The golden retrievers and labs always got adopted quick. They were plenty of small dogs too. Interestingly ugly pug mixes that melted her heart. The one terrier that never barked and acted more cat-like. The fluffy dogs that needed regular hair brushing. 

The cats were fun too. Her cat, Charlie, had a bad paw so he didn’t jump much. She never had cats growing up either. She didn’t realize how high cats liked to get. The certain mischievous ones anyway.

They were occasionally bunnies. The first one Agatha saw, she adopted it. She named the brown-and-white bunny Daisy. She was a lovely addition to Agatha’s furry family.

The birds were interesting. Agatha knew nothing about bird care. She rarely took care of them when they came in, but she did enjoy their songs. The shelter also had two fish tanks, freshwater and saltwater. It was more for the workers and visitors, but sometimes people did drop off a fish they couldn’t care for anymore. 

As for the humans, well, there was one, in particular, Agatha liked. She was a freckled redhead named Becca. Short for Rebecca. That got on well. They shared a deep love of animals and caring for them. Becca had an affinity for fishes. It was her idea to get the fish tanks, Agatha learned one day from another regular volunteer. Agatha had been awkward around Becca at the start. She was very cool and smart. She was everyone’s favorite. Agatha didn’t know what she’d think of Agatha.

“I love your accent,” Becca had said during their first brief conversation.

Agatha got that compliment a lot. But not from fellow animal lovers with pretty brown eyes. So maybe Agatha had a small crush, sue her! That had been another interesting discovery when she moved. Agatha didn’t just like guys who wore beanies and black skinny jeans. She also liked girls that wore flannels and scuffed up black converse. 

So Becca liked fish. Specifically goldfish. Agatha had initially thought that it was a boring sort of fish to like. They were plain looking. Becca managed to convince her that they weren’t boring. They were brilliant.

“Is it a coincidence a ginger like you likes an orange fish so much?” Agatha had joked one afternoon she agreed to help Becca clean the fish tanks.

“Says the girl with one of the most elite English dogs imaginable,” Becca teased back.

Agatha had grinned at that. “But really, goldfish? Why are they your favorite? It seems unoriginal someone like you.”

“You don’t give them enough credit. Goldfish are very unique! They are so many different types!” 

Agatha may have lied when she said goldfish were brilliant. They were like in other fish to her. But when Becca lit up one she talked about them, described the different types, told stories about her own pet fish… That was truly brilliant. 

Becca and Agatha slowly did more and more things together at the shelter. By the end of the summer, they did nearly everything together. The end of summer was bittersweet because Agatha knew she wouldn’t have time to spend at the shelter with classes starting again. She needed the time to study.

On Agatha’s last weekend, Becca surprised her. With a pet goldfish. It was white and plump and ridiculous. Becca came to Agatha’s flat to help her set up the tank properly and teach her the basics. 

“Text me if you have any questions,” Becca had said after the goldfish, dubbed Jeremy by Becca. A silly name for a silly fish. “Or… if you wanna get a coffee some time?”

Agatha had nearly blushed at the thought. Nearly. “Yes, I, that’d be lovely.”

“Yeah, it would blondie,” Becca said ruffling Agatha’s hair.

The first week of classes came and went, and then Becca and Agatha were sitting in a coffee shop over textbooks. 

“So, like, just so we’re clear,” Agatha had said, not looking up from her zoology textbook. “We’re girlfriends, yeah?”

“Yeah,” Becca agreed before she casually took a sip of her coffee.

It was the start of a new cycle. Agatha quite liked the new cycle.

**Author's Note:**

> Leave a kudos or comment if you enjoyed! Happy Yuletide everyone!


End file.
